Adolescence
by xXMidnight-ShadowXx
Summary: Young Mello is not happy with the new girl that came to Wammy's, and thinks that she doesn't belong with them. So, he decides to pick on her. "..but Mello...you know what it means when a person likes to tease another person, right?" "...what?" MelloxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Shadow: HAHAHA!!! I'M BACK BIOTCH!! –wait. Did I even speel that right..? -_- any way, you all probably thought I was dead, didn't you?!?! xDD**

**Chouko: Well, I was hoping you were,,, ¬_¬**

**Shadow: Aww…I was about to give you a greeting glomp, but I guess not anymore. –glares then sighs- Meh desho. I can't believe I'm doing another DN story. =w=;**

**L: Eh? Do you not like us?**

**Shadow: I do! I fcking love you people, but omg you wouldn't believe how hard it was for me to decide what stories should I start on. And I had 5 stories to choose from. =.=**

**

* * *

(Wammy's, 1998)**

"Pass it to me! Pass it to me!"

"Gah! Get back here Mello!!"

"As if! This isn't a game of tag you know!" a nine year old boy grinned as he kicked a ball toward a soccer goal. The goalie was unable to catch it. "Hah! Score!!"

"Aww man…" a boy sighed as he and his teammates admitted defeat.

"I told you you guys would lose. You guys are just _waaaay_ too young." Mello laughed.

"Hey! A _few_ of us are only one year younger! I'm the same age as you, you know Mello." Another boy stated.

"Whatever. My team still won, so where's our prize?" the blond asked.

The boy sighed. "Hold on. The sack of candy is in my room so-"

"Hey, isn't that Mr. Wammy's car?" someone yelled out as a black vehicle pulled over the drive way.

"No way!! Do you think Mr. Wammy is with L?"

Mello scoffed as he took out a chocolate bar out of his pocket. "I highly doubt that. Mr. Wammy _never_ brings L with him. The only time when we can talk to L is through a _computer_."

"But what happened if L really is here? I wanna go see!"

"Hey! Wait-! What about the cand-"

The boy ignored Mello and ran to the front gate along with everyone else. He sighed.

**

* * *

(Switchy to 3rd person limited!(There WAS a difference last time! -)**

Mello sighed as he watched Speedy and the rest of the team run towards the gate, hoping to meet the one and only L. _If_ he was actually there.

It's not that Mello hated L, no. He's his hero, but no one but the adults has ever seen him, which makes Mello wonder if L even cares about the children at all. He never visits, and the only time he ever gets to speak to him is through a webcam on the computer, and that only happens every two months.

"Hey, are you sure you don't want to go there?" a voice asked the blonde. Mello turned and saw his best friend, Matt, walking toward him with a Gameboy Color in his hands. Mello scrunched his nose at the sight and sound of the console. _'God he's so addicted to that thing. He got it one month ago on the exact day it came out. Doesn't he ever get tired of it?!'_

Mello shook the thoughts out of his head. "I don't want to. Mr. Wammy's probably here because of a new kid. It's pointless." He stated and walked towards the orphanage. Matt followed quietly behind him, and Mello can hear his game playing the Tetris theme song.

"Ah, Mello, Matt. How are you two today?" a kind old voice wondered behind the two. The boys turned to see Mr. Wammy, aka the founder of this orphanage. Mello spotted a small hand hanging out of his pant leg.

Mr. Wammy noticed this and smiled. "We're going to have a new child attending Wammy's. Would you like to greet her?"

"Why yes Mr. Wammy!" Matt grinned as he stepped forward to see the new person that will be living in the orphanage. Out of curiosity, Mello happened to do the same thing too. And he couldn't believe what he just saw.

Well, first off, the new person was a girl. She looked like she was a few years younger than Mello. _'She's probably the _sheep's_ age.' _ Mello thought disgustingly, but continued to observe her.

She had long raven black hair that went down her waist, and it looked like she never combed it in weeks. Her clothes were all worn. She had a giant baggy t-shirt with a few stains here and there. The girl probably was living in the streets until Mr. Wammy found her.

Now, you might think that that doesn't sound so surprising. Well, to Mello it wasn't, since a few of the people in Wammy's also came in like that, like Mello himself. But what he found weird about her was her eye patch. Yeah. She was wearing one over her left eye.

"What's her name?" Matt asked as he looked at her. The small girl flinched and hid behind Mr. Wammy. Matt frowned as Mr. Wammy gave a soft chuckle and patted her head.

"Forgive her. She's very shy. You'll find out her name once we give it to her, so until then, we will see you later."

"See ya!" Matt smiled and waved them off.

"She was… weird." Mello mused as he and Matt were walking to their room. "What's with that eye patch?"

"She's not _that_ weird. Maybe that girl has a problem with her eye or something." Matt said. "That might be the reason why she's so afraid of everyone. Do you think she was abused or something and got a scar on her eye?"

Mello shut the door behind him and turned on the T.V. "Doubt it. The girl doesn't really look like she was abused; only looks like a street kid." He kept pressing the up channel button, trying to find something to watch.

"Oh wait! Stop there!!" Matt yelled out. The blonde turned back one channel to see Ash Ketchum call out his Charizard, who then blew fire into his master's face and went to laze around on a rock. Matt laughed. Mello changed the channel. "Hey!!"

"I've already seen that episode. I want something different." The blonde stated.

"Aww!! But Mels!! It's Pokemon!"

"So? It's an old episode." He repeated and reached into his pocket to grab…a chocolate wrapper. His eyes widened. "I'm out of chocolate already?! Dang it!!"

"Ha! Serves you right- Oww!!!" Matt rubbed his arm after Mello threw the remote at him. "What was that for?!"

"Watch that stupid giant-lizard-dinosaur-thing with wings _try_ to kill his immortal master with flamethrower! I need my sweets!" That's when he realized something. "Oh crud! I forgot to get the candy from Speedy!!" and with that, Mello rushed out the door.

* * *

Mello barged in through the 'S-2' labeled door, but the candy bearer(aka Speedy) was nowhere in sight. His roommate, Saga, however, was. "Saga! Have you seen Speedy? He owes me candy!"

Saga arose from his covers and yawned. Unlike Speedy, Saga was very lazy for a fourteen year old boy. He always takes naps every afternoon that usually last up to five hours. Even though he's a heavy sleeper, Saga can clearly hear you talking even if he's fully asleep. He says it's like 'his body is asleep but his mind isn't'.

"Speedy…?" Saga slurred as he tried to stay focus. "I think I heard him say that he was going to give his Halloween candy from last month to the team that won the soccer match down at the common room…" He yawned. "That is what he said, didn't he? How long have I been out?" he asked himself as he grabbed his small alarm clock.

"Crud! The chocolate might be all gone now!" Mello gritted and ran out. "Thanks Saga!!"

"..right.." Saga murmured and slammed his head onto his pillow, immediately falling back asleep.

* * *

"Speedy!!" Mello yelled. He saw the boy and a few others gathered all on the couch. When he got to him, Mello grabbed his shoulders. "Speedy! Where's the candy?!"

"I-I gave them all away." He stuttered, gesturing to all of the people around him. They all backed away, afraid that Mello might go on a chocolate rampage.

"Any chocolate?!"

"N-no! There barely any! Th-there was mostly lollipops and gummies!" Mello sighed, his grip loosening a little. "L-look! If it makes you feel any better, I could-"

"No… It's alright. You don't have to do anything." he mumbled and finally let go of him.

"A-are you sure?"

"Yeah. There probably wasn't that much chocolate to fight for anyway." Mello sighed, but then glared at him. He poked him hard on the chest. "But next time, don't give out the candy unless I'm there."

"R-right.." he mumbled as the blonde walked away from the area.

* * *

"Da-amn…" Mello tried to say as he was walking down a hallway. It was weird for him to say that word. He knew it's a bad word, but he heard some of the older kids around the orphanage say it when they were angry or frustrated. And right now, the blonde was angry too, so he decided to give swearing a try to improve his mood.

"Damn..it." He said, furrowing his brows. "Why did Speedy have to give away all the candy?! Especially all the chocolate!! Though, I did say it wasn't worth it because there weren't that much…"

He paused and heard a voice. "-brother?" it said. Mello turned his head towards the direction of the voice. It was coming from Roger's office.

'_Brother? Whose brother?'_ He wondered as he quietly pressed his ear onto the door.

"Yeah…where is he?" a small voice wondered. The voice was so soft, Mello could barely hear it. _'Was that the new girl speaking?'_

"Miss Clarissa, _who _exactly was your older brother?" Mello heard Roger's voice ask. _'He sounds like he's worried…'_

"Brother's name was-"

"Mello, what are you doing?" a monotone voice asked, making the said person jump and accidentally slam his head toward the door. Mello turned around, shocked, before narrowing his eyes. _'It's _him_.'_

"What are you doing here, _Near_?" Mello spat. Mello usually doesn't hate people…much, but to him, Near has to be the _worst _kind of person there is. He looks so emotionless, and doesn't care about a thing; he's like a robot!

"I believe I asked you first." He said. Then, the door opened. Near and Mello both looked up to Roger and Mr. Wammy standing behind the door.

"Mello, Near, what are you doing here?" Roger questioned.

"I just happened to see Mello trying to listen to the conversation you two were having." Near explained and twirled a lock of his hair. Mello glared at him for ratting him out. "Also, I happened to hear there was a new child coming to Wammy's?"

"Why yes." Mr. Wammy smiled. He turned to his side. "Clarissa, why don't you come introduce yourself?"

Slowly, the same girl from before appeared beside Mr. Wammy. She was all cleaned up now; though she still had that eye patch.

She only nodded at the two boys. Mr. Wammy decided to introduce her for her. "Mello, Near. This is Clarissa. Like I mentioned before, she is really shy, so maybe you can help her out with her classes?" He bent down a little to speak to her. "Clarissa, if you ever need help, you can always go to these two gentlemen right here. I'm sure they'll be able to assist you, but you can still always come to Roger or any other staff member too, okay?"

She nodded. When Mr. Wammy stood up, Clarissa immediately grabbed his pant leg. "Are you going to leave?" she asked. She looked scared at the fact the man who took her in was going to leave her after just one day.

Mr. Wammy half-heartedly smiled and patted her head. "I'm afraid I have to. You see, there is someone I need to aid. And he told me to come back as soon as possible after I have helped you settle here."

"Oh…" she looked down and let go of him.

"Goodbye Clarissa." He said and looked at the two successors. "Boys." They nodded.

"Tell L I said hi!" Mello added, but then he lowered his head a little with a blush, thinking the action was too sudden. Mr. Wammy chuckled and nodded, which made Mello raise his head again.

"You and L be safe." Roger said. Mr. Wammy nodded at him too and left. "Boys, why don't you show Clarissa around? I'm sure she'll need a lot of help, and I've got a lot of work to do."

After Roger went in his office, Mello glanced at Near, who looked at him right back. Mello then looked at Clarissa and noticed that she was staring at them both, looking a bit frightened at the sight of the two.

'_She's such a scaredy-cat.'_ He thought, amused.

"Well, shall we get going then?" Mello's good mood was easily smashed by hearing Near speak. Just the sound of his voice makes him want to tear him to shreds!

His eyes narrowed as his immediate reaction was to yell at the boy. "As if! I wouldn't want to be seen in public with your ugly albino face! You're on your own, sheep!" He snapped and left.

* * *

Near gave a soft sigh as he and his fellow companion watched the blonde boy stomp out of their sight. _'Stubborn, as usual…'_ he thought, and slowly turned back to the girl. He stretched out his hand toward her. "Shall we get going then?"

Clarissa gave a small jump, looking at the hand held out to her hesitantly. Slowly but cautiously, she took it. Clarissa was surprised at the cold temperature the albino held in his hand, but she still held it tightly. And so, with Near leading the way, the two children began walking down the hall, starting the tour.

**

* * *

Shadow: Heheh… very tiny sparks are starting to appear between Near and Clarissa…x) But etto…I think it was a bad idea for me to do the limited POV on Mello..most people aren't really good at making him in character(like me).. kuso… ._.; **

**Mello: I already seem OOC already. Why was I actually trying to be nice to that new midget anyway? And I rarely swore too!! **

**Shadow: W-well!! It's because you're nine in the story for now! _ And I forgot how little kids act. Do they always try to act like they're superior and awesome and they're like in their ignorance is bliss kind of thing? I think that was how I was like(maybe?).. I forgot what it was like to be in my single digits. T-T I miss my childhood…**

**Matt: Well, that's what sucks about growing up.. but lucky for us, we get to relive it again!! :D Thanks Shadow!! –glomps-**

**Shadow: Aww!!! ^//^ -blinks- Wait, if you're little kids in the story, doesn't that make you little kids here..?**

**Everyone: Say what- -poof!-**

**Mello: Gah!! What the hell?!?! –is nine years old again-**

**Matt: Awesome!! Now I can cause trouble without out getting in trouble!!! Sweet!! :DD –is eight again-**

**Near: … -is seven- (he looks exactly the same! xDD)**

**Shadow: -massive sparkles- OMG!!! SO CUTE!!! –glomps all- I'M IN SHOTA HEAVEN!!! :'DD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Shadow: …GAAH!! –twitch twitch- Sorry people that I haven't updated for…-checks calendar- 20 DAYS!! –is shot-**

**Mello: How many times do you have to get shot in this place? =_=;; Shouldn't you have already died by now?**

**Shadow: I'm only alive because Life loves to screw me up. Isn't that right Life?**

**Life: -evil smiles- Yup! And that's why I have to keep you alive! For now… -glomps-**

**Shadow: -shoves Life out the building- Anyways, sorry again I haven't been typing people. I'm getting lazy easily nowadays because it's winter, a lot of things are on my mind-ish, and IT'S SO COLD!! Gahh!! –twitching uncontrollably-**

**

* * *

(Next Day)**

"Mello Yellow!! Time to get up!!" a cheerful voice yelled. Mello was awoken by someone shaking him. Still tired, he ignored the person and covered his head with his pillow. Sadly, his blanket soon vanished as he did, allowing the cold air to come in tact with his body.

Mello sat up and hugged himself, not used to the sudden chilly temperature. "Matt! Give me my blanket back!"

The red head held the cover in the air, smiling. "You have to get out of bed if you want it!"

Mello groaned as he crawled to the end of the bed and reached for the blanket. His roommate took a few steps back. "Ah ah ah! You're not gonna have it that easily!"

"Matt!!" Mello yelled after his friend as he ran out the door with the blanket. _'He didn't have to run out!' _Mello frowned. He stood up and stretched. "Dang…so early in the morning too…"

Before walking out the door, Mello looked back and grabbed Matt's Gameboy and his dark red rosary. He looked at the religious trinket before putting it on, sighing as he grasped the crucifix tightly.

* * *

"Matt. The blanket. Now." Mello growled as he walked in the cafeteria to see his roommate wearing his blanket as a cape. Matt turned, looking pale for a minute before grinning.

He stood up on the tabled, and Mello was glaring daggers at him as the end of the 'cape' was being stained by the food on the table. "HA HA HA~!!" Matt laughed, trying to sound like an evil villain as he put his goggles on. "ARE YOU, MELLO-YELLOW," Giggles were heard at the sound of the nickname. "TRYING TO DEFY ME?! THE GREATEST POKEMON SUPER VILLAIN EVER?!"

Mello sighed. _'It's always Pokemon with him, isn't it?'_

"Wait, wait, how are _you_ the greatest Pokemon super villain anyway?" a little boy asked Matt.

Matt blinked and tried to come up with a reason. "Um..well…I steal Pokemon!"

"Team Rocket already does that!" someone yelled.

"Er…did I mention I steal legendary Pokemon and use them for evil?"

"It's still the same as Team Rocket.."

"…." It was silent. "..How about stealing all the candy in the world and not sharing them?" Matt suggested.

"…HOW EVIL!!!" everyone suddenly yelled.

"Matt really is the greatest Pokemon villan in the world!"

"No candy AND Pokemon?! I don't think I'd survive in that world!"

Matt grinned victoriously and laughed. "Yeah! That's right! ALL SHALL FEAR THE MATT-STER OF EVIL!"

'_We just went off topic…'_ Mello rubbed his temples.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Just try and catch me!" Matt jumped off the table and ran for the door. Mello chased after him and was about to grab the end of the flying cape when Matt suddenly turned around, revealing that he had grabbed someone as hostage.

"Stay back! Or else she gets it!" He yelled and made an imaginary gun with his hand. Mello blinked and looked at the frightened person. It was the new girl, Clarissa, and it looked like she was going to faint at any second.

She was shaking terribly and tears were forming at the bridge of her eyes- er, eye. Dang eye patch… "What will you do now, Mello?" Matt smirked as he held his hostage tighter and pointed his 'gun' at her head. Did he not realize the girl was in the brink of tears?

Mello sighed and reached into his pocket. "Hey! Matt! Unless you want _this_," He pulled out the Gameboy. "To be smashed to pieces, I suggest you let go of the girl and give the blanket back."

Matt's eyes widened. "No-! But-! How did you know that was my only weakness??" he asked dramatically.

"Matt…" Mello warned as he tightened his grip on the game console. The goggled boy immediately dropped his act.

"Okay, okay." He said, putting his arms up and untying the blanket from his neck. "That thing was getting too heavy anyway. Can I have my game now?"

"Fine." Mello grumbled as he tossed the game toward him and grabbed the blanket. Matt immediately turned the Gameboy on and started to play. Everything resumed back to the way it was, with a few whispers of disappointment that the show ended too early.

"Hey. Aren't you forgetting something, Mattie?" Mello asked.

"Hm? What?" the once 'greatest Pokemon super villain' raised his head and noticed someone lying on the floor. "Oh…did I do that…?"

"Yes…idiot.." Mello crouched down to check up on the unconscious Clarissa. He gently shook her. "Hey…new girl…wake up." No response. He sighed. "Great job Matt, you killed her."

"I did?!!" he gasped. He fell on his knees, holding his hands together and looking up. "No!!! Please God! I didn't mean it! Don't send me to jail!! The clothes will look ultra mega horrible on me!"

"Matt. You don't believe in God, so stop acting like you do. And don't worry; you're already _wearing_ a striped shirt like those convicts; you've already been ugly for some time now." Mello grumbled as he threw Clarissa's arm around him. "Now help me drag this into the nurse's office, will you?"

Matt somehow managed to cram his game into his jeans pocket. "You know, it's really rude to call someone a 'this'. Especially since 'this' is a girl." He said as he grabbed the other arm.

"Oh shut up." Mello rolled his eyes. "It's not like _you_ have any respect yourself." He remarked, walking out the door with his friend and an unconscious person, unaware that a pair of dark, obsidian eyes were watching them carefully.

* * *

"And so, that brings us to…" The algebra teacher turned to the board, writing numbers down, and then turning back to the class to explain it all. Mello stopped twirling his pencil to write down the same equation, along with a few notes, before twirling his pencil again.

Matt was sitting right next to him, and he actually turned off his game for once to try to do the same thing Mello was doing with his pencil. "How do you do that??" He asked, trying to wiggle his mechanical pencil between his middle and ring finger. The writing utensil fell on the floor when Matt lost his grip, making it the 34th time it fell on the floor, but who's counting?

Oh yeah. It was Mello, finding it amusing to see his friend so desperate to learn a simple pencil trick.

The blond spun his pencil a little faster, mocking Matt. The ginger headed gamer groaned.

Just then, the door opened and Roger and Clarissa came into the room. Roger stepped forward and had a word with the teacher, while Clarissa was holding her hand up to her mouth, looking at the class with anxious eyes. Mello noticed that she was chewing on the sleeve of her new dark blue sweater.

"Everyone," the teacher's voice interrupted Mello from his observation. "We are going to have a new student today." She gestured towards the small petite girl. "This is Clarissa, and she recently came from America. Please treat her kindly."

"OH! Isn't that the girl who fainted this morning?" one girl yelled out, and the whole class laughed. Clarissa ducked her head down, chewing on her sleeve even more. _'Her lip could be bleeding if the cloth wasn't there to block her teeth.' _Mello thought.

"Yes. She was. And I am hoping an incident like that won't happen again. _Matt_." Roger said, giving Mello's friend a look. Matt scratched his neck.

"Yeah… Sorry." He said. Roger left. The teacher bent down a little to talk to Clarissa.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to the class to let them know you better?" she suggested, but Clarissa immediately shook her head. The teacher frowned a little. "Well, okay…you can sit in that empty seat over there."

The girl nodded and sped walked to her seat, which was one row to Mello's left and two seats down. She sat with her head down. Clarissa finally stopped chewing on her sleeve and hid her hands under the desk.

Mello could tell she was now nervous than ever, seeing that people were staring at her with curiosity. _'She should've done the introduction…'_ Mello thought and resumed listening to the lesson, hiding a smile when he heard something clatter on the floor.

'_That makes it the 35th time…' _

* * *

"That's it for today class. I'll see you all tomorrow." The teacher smiled and finally excused all the students. Mello tried not to stumble when all of the children were running toward the door, eager to go to their next classes.

As Matt and Mello were walking down the hall, Matt turned another way. "Well, see you Mello."

"Wait. Where are you going?" Mello asked. His friend looked back with an innocent face.

"Nowhere…"

The blonde dulled. "You're going to skip History again, aren't you?"

"No." Matt stared at a wall.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yeah huh."

"Nuh uh."

"Nuh uh."

"Yeah- Dang it!" Matt stomped his foot on the ground. Mello smiled.

"Knew it." Mello walked toward the way Matt was going. He turned to him. "Well, what are you waiting for? It's not like you're going to be the only one having the time of your life while the others all suffer."

Matt grinned and jumped in the air. "Sweet! Let's goooo-!! Oww!"

"Quiet you idiot! You can't let anyone hear us!!" Mello scolded as they quietly walked up the flight of stairs.

"So are we going to the usual?" Matt whispered this time.

"Of course! But let's go to the room first." When the boys entered the hallway, Matt looked around for any sign of an adult coming by.

"It's clear." He whispered. Mello nodded and the two went into secret agent mode. The door flung open and the boys ran inside, grabbing everything they can get. "Hey Mels." Matt said. "Do you have anything else besides chocolate to bring? I'm sort of getting tired of that being our food…"

"I got..Pocky?" Mello said, taking the box out of his drawer full of snacks.

"Flavor?"

"Chocolate." Matt shook his head. Mello sighed and opened his snack drawer more, looking for something that didn't have his favorite food in its substance. Unfortunately(for Matt), he didn't.

"Are you serious?" Matt groaned. Mello rolled his eyes and proceeded to stuff a few chocolate bars in his bag.

"Deal with it. Anyway, at least I have different kinds of chocolate." Mello huffed and walked out the door, Matt slowly closing it after.

After walking four cases of stairs, the boys were tired, but glad that they had made it to their destination. "I wish Wammy's has a lift or something to get us to places faster.." Matt whined as he opened the door to the roof. "The stairs here are so steep…"

"That is true. Maybe Mr. Wammy can make a few renovations.." Mello thought as he took in the fresh cold air. Matt rubbed his shoulders.

"Aren't you cold?" Matt's teeth were chattering. Mello shook his head.

"I'm already used to this. Besides, you shouldn't be cold either. Haven't you lived in Wammy's longer than me anyway?" Mello said cockily as he sat down on the roof and took out a chocolate bar. Matt slowly lowered his arms, no longer freezing.

"Heh. I guess you're right. It's just that I don't adjust quickly with things." Matt gave a soft smile before sitting down too. "Well, anyways, I've only been here a month longer than you have. It's not much of a big difference."

"You sure? Thirty days seem a lot to me.." Mello said as he opened his bag more so Matt could get the box of Pocky.

"Really? Not really. Time goes by pretty fast." Matt said as he twirled a Pocky stick around his fingers before putting it into his mouth. "Hey Mello look! I'm smoking! Ha!" Matt laughed as he pretended that the bread stick was a cigarette.

Mello frowned. "Matt. You shouldn't do things like that, even if it's just pretend."

"Why not? It's not like I'm going to actually do things like that. I'm just playing."

"But still. It's just that…" Mello trailed off, grimacing as a few memories came back to him.

"…" It was silent for the two of them. Mello looked away.

Matt put the Pocky stick in his mouth and ate it correctly this time. "Sorry Mel. I sorta forgot…but look. It's not like I'm going to actually do it for real. Those things can kill you."

Mello's lips twitched. "Yeah…I guess you're right. But if you do start to smoke, I'm not going to be happy."

"Yeah. You'll probably just kick me where it hurts!" Matt joked. Mello smirked.

"Good idea. Matt, if you do start smoking, I'm gonna kick you there…three times!" Mello added the last part with sadistic smile. Matt paled.

"Wh-wha-?!"

_Dong! …Dong!_

The boys lifted their head up a little at the sound of a large bell being rung. "Hey Mel…?"

"Yeah?" Mello asked, counting the number of rings the bell made. _3…4…_

_-ong!...Dong!._

"When you first came to England, was the first thing you heard were the bells of that church?"

Mello closed his eyes, feeling the cold wind blow against him. _7…_ "You know, now that I think about it, I did hear them when I was about to open the door to our room. Why?" _8…_

"I don't know…It's just that.."

_Dong! _

"-when I came here, I heard the bells too. I'm just wondering if all the other kids here had the same experience." Matt looked into the bleak sky. "We all came to Wammy's because Mr. Wammy gives us a chance after our parents died. I'm just wondering if...the bells are like a welcoming to a new life. In Wammy's, where we'll all find something better than before."

"Heh. Since when have you ever been so poetic Matt?" Mello chuckled.

_Dong!...Dong!_

The bells stopped, leaving a small echo in the air. Mello opened his eyes. _'11…' _He thought. A sudden chilly breeze flew by, making the boys shiver. Mello's ears perked when he heard a thump behind them when the wind passed.

"Who's there?" Mello asked, standing up and looking at the only entrance that led to the roof. Slowly, the door opened, revealing a small shy seven year old girl with an eye patch.

"Clarissa?" Matt asked. She nodded forcefully. Mello's mind clicked all of a sudden. How did she follow them without them noticing? Was she listening in onto their conversation? And most importantly, was she a spy for Near?!?

"How long have you been there? Why did you follow us?" Mello yelled, walking towards her. The girl shook as her collar was grabbed.

"Calm down Mel!" Matt urged, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "..if she might faint again, Roger might think it's my fault!" He tried to lighten the atmosphere a bit.

Mello huffed, knowing what he was trying to do, and let go of her. "Fine... Why _are_ you here?" he looked at the girl in annoyance.

"I-I'm sorry! I-it's just…I got lost when walking a-and I was trying to l-look for you for help, m-mis-" Mello's eye twitched.

"I'm a boy!" He irked, already having to go through the same situation he always had with new people. Clarissa blinked.

"…ster…?" she completed as a question, and then it was Mello who blinked in surprise.

'_No way..D-did she actually know I was a b-'_

"S-sorry.. I-I thought you were a girl b-because of the hair…" Clarissa lowered her head, and Mello's scowl came back.

"Ugh! How can every single person here think that I'm a girl just because of the hair?! It's not like all boys have short hair you know." Mello put his hands on his hips. Again, Clarissa bowed her head.

"I-I'm sorry…" she whispered and began backing towards the door. Mello grabbed a handful of her long raven hair and yanked it.

"Wait a minute." He muttered, bringing her closer to his face. "You're not going to tell the adults where we are, _are you?"_

"N-no!" she stuttered. Mello looked at her skeptically, not sure if the stutter was from lying or her shyness.

"Hey, why don't you stay here with us?" Matt suggested, holding out a hand for her. "Come on, it'll be fun. It's a nice view here." He gave a small smile. The girl however rejected his offer by shaking her head. "Aww..why not?"

"Y-you two are boys…" Mello and Matt blinked.

"So? What does that have to do with hanging out on the roof?" Mello questioned.

"B-boys have cooties…" she whispered, backing away. As she said that, Mello couldn't help but snigger. She's so childish!

Matt didn't give up though. "Aww, come on. We don't have cooties. See?" He forced Mello to hold his hands up and did the same as well. "We're clean. Nothing on us."

She looked at the two hesitantly, inspecting the hands carefully. "O-okay…" she then said, and Matt cheered.

"Yay! Clarissa gets to play with us! Clarissa gets to pl-"

"Quiet down!" Mello urged Matt. "You wouldn't want the adults to hear us!" He tugged his friend to him, away from Clarissa. "Besides, what are you thinking, inviting her like that?"

"But she needs friends, Mel." He whispered so that the girl couldn't hear. "And look at her; I doubt she'll be making any friends with her shyness in the way. She needs a boost~!!"

Clarissa shrieked as she was suddenly lifted in the air by a certain red head. Shocked from the sudden scream, Matt immediately dropped her, making her scrape her palms on the roof's rough exterior. She winced as she clutched her wounded hands, crying.

"I-I'm sorry!! Don't cry! Please don't cry!!" Matt panicked. "Uh…do you want to play hopscotch to cheer you up?"

Mello face palmed. "She doesn't want to play hopscotch, stupid!"

Matt gasped. "You said a bad word!!" He looked at Clarissa, pointing a finger at Mello with a smile. "Hey Clarissa! Do you want to see Mello get his mouth scrubbed? It's going to be _really_ fun-!!"

"Hey! Who's up there?!" a voice yelled. Footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. Matt and Mello looked at each other, frozen in fear, knowing what torture was going to come to the three. Louder and louder, the footsteps came before the door was final1y slammed wide open to reveal what Wammy children believed was the scariest person alive…

Mr. Penelope.

**

* * *

Shadow: Lol. Couldn't think up of a last name xD Ah…I'm an idiot –is shot- But ngeh… when Matt was making his 'speech' about the bells and Wammy thing, it sounds corny to me now. Gahh!!! -is frustrated- Dx Ah, why must I suck at being poetic?!?**

**Life: Because, my favorite target, you just are. And I made you that way too! ^-^  
**

**Shadow: How did you- =_=… Please…just disappear now…-shoots flamethrower-**

**Mello: -walking in as Life burns- …I don't want to know…=_=;**

**Matt: -walking in too with Clarissa- Hey cool! Let's make s'mores! To the cabinet- we goooo!!! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Shadow: ...Guess who's back? Please note: If you guys have been wondering where I've been, please read my profile. **

* * *

Mello and Matt shook in fear as Mr. Penelope stomped toward them, a deadly aura coming behind him. Mr. Penelope was the History teacher for the 16 and 17 year olds. He used to be in the army, but rumor has it that he was suspended by causing too many fights within his group. He's one of the strictest people the children have ever seen. He's even meaner than Roger!

Mr. Penelope gave a sickly smile to the three children. "Well, may I ask what are you _three_ doing here_?_"

Mello, seeing as he was the oldest, knew he had to be the bravest. He spoke, trying his best not to show his fear. "Well..we were trying to show our friend here around…"

"Oh…?" he asked, looking at the trembling Clarissa.

"U-umm yeah!" Matt joined in. "Roger entrusted us in doing so! Yeah!"

"Mr. Roger told you guys to show her around?" The boys nodded, thinking their plan will work. "Even after I've heard that Near has already done that for her _yesterday_?" They froze. Mr. Penelope smirked. "That's what I thought. You three are coming with me."

* * *

"Detention for a week." Roger simply stated just as the three children entered the office. Roger turned to Mr. Penelope. "It's alright. I'll take it from here, Raymond." Mr. Penelope saluted and left.

"B-but Roger-!" Matt tried to reason, but he got cut off.

"No excuses. Or would you like to have two weeks of detention in the library? We _have_ already been through this before, haven't we?" Matt opened his mouth, but Mello quickly elbowed him.

"Quiet! Or else you might make it worse for us!" he whispered angrily.

"M-mr. Roger…?" a small voice was heard. Mello almost forgot that Clarissa was in trouble too. The girl raised her hands to show her bruised hands.

"Oh my. What happened to you?" Roger asked gently, looking at Mello and Matt as if knowing the answer.

"I fell…i-it still hurts…"

"Well, go ahead and make your way to the nurse's office. Ms. Grey will fix you up." She nodded and slowly walked out the door. Thinking they were done here, Mello and Matt looked at each other before slowing taking a few steps back.

"Not. You two. " The boys stopped. Mello watched as Roger was pinching the bridge of his nose.

''_What am I going to do with the two of you..?' He's probably going to say that first.' _Mello thought. He's been through this many times before, and can almost tell what Roger's going to do next.

"What am I going to do with the two of you..?" Roger sighed. Mello almost smirked.

'_Next…the you-two-are-in-the-top-three-in-line-to-be-L's-successor mini speech.'_

"You've been in my office countless times before. You are two of the top three successors for L. I cannot believe you two can still keep your ranks even after all the ruckus you do."

'_He sorta paraphrased it, but it's still it.' _Mello mentally shrugged. _'Then, Matt's going to say something and then Roger's going to dismiss us. It's always going to be like that.'_

"Hey, at least we can manage to maintain our grades." Matt shrugged his shoulders. "And where's the fun in being a kid when you can't break the rules?"

Roger sighed and Mello readied himself. _'And here comes the dismissing.'_

"Well, although I know you two can keep your grades up; please don't bring Clarissa into your mischief." Mello blinked.

"What?" he asked unexpectedly. _'What does she have to do with us?'_

"Why can't we Roger?" Matt pouted a little and crossed his arms. Roger let out a breath and lied back in his chair, arms crossed.

"You can't because her scores might get affected if you two meddle around with her. And she isn't like the children around here either, so it's going to be difficult for her to study."

"What do you mean? Are you saying she isn't gifted?" Mello asked, eyebrows raised. Roger was silent. The two knew what was the answer.

"Wait..so why is she here…?" Matt slowly asked, curious as well.

"She has a reason to be here.." Roger paused. "When Quillish found her, he was about to put her in an ordinary orphanage, but…something happened, and L instructed him to take her here."

"What was the reason?" Mello asked.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you boys." Roger waved his hand, gesturing them out the door. "You boys may go, but please remember to not cause so many ruckuses."

"Okay, we'll _try_." Matt's smile seemed like the Cheshire Cat's, and the old man knew he didn't mean it. Anyway, the door closed and Mello and Matt left.

* * *

Mello was not happy. "It's not fair! Why does _she_ get to be here when she isn't even a genius?" Mello scoffed. (note: -slams head onto desk- Damn Mary Sue sentence…-_-)

"Like the old man said, she has a special reason…well, one that we don't know of, but it's still good." Matt said, a little unsure.

"No it's not!" Mello snapped. "If that girl doesn't have any talent, then she shouldn't be here! She's just going to be a nuisance for everyone. She already is to me!"

"Aw come on Mel, try to give her a chance, at least." Matt tried to persuade, but Mello shook his head.

"And why not so, Mello?" a voice wondered.

"Because! I told you she's useless around here!" Mello yelled in Matt's face. The red head raised his arms in defense.

"Th-that wasn't me…" he said shakily. Mello blinked. '_Then who..'_

"I am right here." the voice said again from behind, and Mello jumped back, colliding into Matt. He turned to the person.

"Wha-what are you doing here, _sheep_?" Mello yelled, panting from the death scare the albino gave.

He turned a little and pointed down the corridor. "I was just exiting the nurse's office when I heard the two of you yelling. You shouldn't speak so loud, Mello, unless you purposely want Clarissa to hear you."

"So what if that-! …Wait…why do you care if that little runt heard me or not? And what were you doing in the nurse's office anyway, unless…" Mello looked surprised for a second before grinning knowingly. "You have feelings for that newbie, don't you _Near_?"

"Nonsense. If we are going to be the successor to L, we will not need an emotion like that. Love is a very inadequate thing to possess if you are going to be a detective. All it will do is cause stress and interrupt your work." Near stated simply.

"Aww…come on Near…haven't you ever been in…_love_ before?" Matt asked dreamily as he drew a heart shape with his fingers.

"No, I believe I have not."

Mello scoffed. "Of course he hasn't. The sheep's an emotionless freak! I doubt he even _knows_ what love is."

"Love is the affectionate concern of the well being of others, am I correct? What is more to the meaning than that?" Matt sighed, and threw an arm around the small boy.

"Ahh….you really don't know don't you? Love isn't _just_ that one sentence you said that I can't remember: it's like a…a…" Matt paused. "Well, how _would_ you describe love, all mighty love-master Linda?" It was silent.

"Matt… the art freak isn't here." Mello said, crossing his arms.

"Nooo…." He whispered in a rasp voice, bending towards him. "She is here…I can smell the acrylic paints…and the scent is telling me…she is over _THERE_!" He quickly pointed to the direction that Near was pointing to last time. The place was still empty, making Matt earn a hard punch in the head. "But she _is _there! I know it!"

"Tch. Fine." Mello looked across the hallway intersection. "Linda, if you _are_ there-" Mello rolled his eyes. "-you better come out or else you're gonna regret it!"

Seconds later, a short blonde pigtail slowly appeared from the left, before the whole person was revealed. Mello was actually surprised seeing his buddy was actually right for once. "Wow Matt. You were right."

"See? I deserve an apology!"

"Okay. I'm sorry that you're an idiot who has the senses of a dog."

"Th-that wasn't what I meant.." Matt said dejectedly as the young artist walked over to them. Surprisingly, Linda also had a companion with her who was following closely behind. Mello crossed his arms as he looked down at the two girls. "So…what were you two ladies spying on us for?"

"We weren't spying on you guys." Linda stated matter-of-factly. Mello gave a small smirk at her spunk. Not many girls ever talked back to Mello. They were scared they might anger him or something. But Linda wasn't.

Since Linda won't be sweating in fear by him, Mello decided to pick on the poor tiny mouse next to her. "Well, what were you doing hiding behind the hallway then? Huh? Newbie?" Mello asked arrogantly as he poked Clarissa hard on her forehead, forcing her to look up.

Mello grinned in satisfaction when he got the reaction he wanted from her. That Alex guy was right; watching people squirm _is_ amusing.

"Mello, don't pick on her. She's new around here. Try to be nice" Matt tried to reason. Mello turned to his friend and put his hands on his hips.

"And why should I be Mattie? This midget has to learn a few lessons about how it works around here."

"Yes. She must learn about this orphanage and learn how to adjust, but I do not think she needs to be taught about them in your kind of way, Mello." Near said, twirling a piece of his hair while casting a glance at Clarissa. She seemed to relax a little, but she averted her eyes from Near's gaze.

"Tch. Who cares what you say sheep?" Mello then grinned. "I say she has to do the Initiation around here." It took a few seconds before everyone can comprehend what he just said.

"Wh-what?" Linda exclaimed. "She can't do that!"

"And why not?" Mello crossed his arms. Linda rolled her eyes.

"Uh, I don't know, maybe because it's too dangerous?"

"I-I'm sort of agreeing with Linda here Mels…" Matt meekly raised his hand. He scratched the back of his head. "I-I mean, come on, kids her age shouldn't even do that. _We_ didn't even do it! It's just too much pressure. And who knows what-"

"Well I say she does it." Mello said. Matt and Linda had stressed looks. They sighed, knowing that Mello won't change his mind. The boy turned to her. "Hey newbie, you aren't deaf are you? You heard what we were talking about. Do you want to do the Initiation or not? But I have to warn you, it won't be easy."

Clarissa looked hesitant. She just gave a nervous shrug and looked away. Linda lightly grabbed her arm. "Come on. Let's just go Clarissa." She said and they began to walk away.

Mello narrowed his eyes. She wasn't going to walk away from this just like that. He wasn't going to let her. "Look, do you want to be accepted into this place or not?" He spoke up. He smirked when Clarissa stopped mid-step.

'_I got her now…'_

"Even though it's your first day here, people already know you're a wimp after you've fainted this morning. They're gonna keep that impression of you because of that. They might even bully you nonstop too!" Mello said with a wave of his hand and a Chesire smile. He could feel Linda looking at him with a glare, and Matt giving a look pleading to stop, but even so, he continued. He was just evil like that.

"But…if you do the Initiation, you'd be known around the whole orphanage. Respected. Praised. And popular. No new kid has done the Initiation in a while, so if you do it, people will be amazed that a shy girl like you can do it when no one else would!" Clarissa turned to face him, with an amazed look in her eye.

Mello glared though when Linda was starting to grab Clarissa's arm_. 'She's going to try and pull her away again!'_ Mello scowled even more when he saw Matt, his own friend, shake his head at her, mouthing not to do it.

"Clarissa…don't..." Linda whispered to her.

"Don't tell her what to do!" Mello snapped, and everyone flinched at the sudden tone of voice.

"Don't influence her to do the Initiation!" Linda yelled back. "Mello, you should know! Didn't you try to do the Initiation too? Remember what happened to you!" Mello grimaced, but tried to make it look like a glare. "What do you think will happen to Clarissa if she tries it? Her result after might even be worse than yours! Why do you even want her to do the Initiation anyway?"

Mello growled. "Because! Don't you understand? This girl doesn't know how we do things here! She doesn't even belon-!"

"What do I have to do..?" a voice quietly asked, but Mello was able to hear it even when he was yelling.

"Wh-what..?" Linda asked as everyone looked at Clarissa in disbelief. She lifted up her head, looking at Mello straight in the eye.

"I'll do it…what will I have to do?" She asked again. It actually surprised him; the way she looked at him. There was no fear detected in her eyes, only determination. Mello never knew she could actually have that in her.

'_But, it's too bad though..' _Mello thought as his lips curled into a small smirk. _'She'll never have that look again once I'm through with her.'_

Mello smiled at his prey, laughing at her foolishness. "Come on Clarissa. I'll help you set up how you're going to do the Initiation." She nodded and walked beside him, waiting for him to lead the way.

Before they were off, Mello gave a small flinch when heavy daggered glares were aimed his way. He looked to his side and narrowed his eyes at the three people who were against his plans.

'_Who do you think you're glaring at?' _Mello asked them mentally. _'It's not my fault this newbie deserves it. She shouldn't even be here in the first place! But now that she is, she's going to pay..'_

"Aren't we going to go now?" Clarissa asked plainly. With one last glare at the three, Mello smiled.

"Yeah. We're going to go." Mello said and began walking. He noticed that Clarissa was just a few steps ahead of him, and that she was walking really fast, seeming eager to change the 'opinion' of what everyone thinks of her. He smirked.

'_This confidence…I can't wait to break it!'_

* * *

Watching the two walk away, Near, somehow being able to read Mello's last thoughts, glared at the blond and clenched his fist tighter. He glanced at the two older kids next to him, who were worrying what might be the outcome of all this.

"We have to stop him…" Linda said, looking back at the hallway from where Mello and Clarissa had walked.

"I know, but what can we do? Mello's older than us, and obviously the strongest out of us…" Matt trailed off.

"And we can't tell the adults, or else that'll make Mello angry. And most of the older kids will probably go with Mello's plans since _they_ were the ones who thought of the Initiation in the first place!" Linda pulled on the ends of her pigtails and whined. "Ahh! What are we going to dooooo?"

Near bit the bottom of his lip and looked down, pondering. _'Yes…what are we going to do?'_

**

* * *

Shadow: And just to let you know, this chapter, and also the next were already done, like months ago, I just never published them. But the future chapters that I'm (possibly) going to write later might be different from them because, well, I think my writing style changed. So please keep that in mind! ^_^**


	4. Chapter 4

**Shadow: Ready to see how different my style changed? This chapter was also written ahead of time, but it was only halfway completed, so I myself finished typing it these last few days. Sorry it's so short though. This is when I think I improved the most, so please enjoy. : )**

* * *

The 'Initation' isn't as complicated as everyone thought it would be. All you had to do was simply overcome your worst, nightmarish fear…with a twist. Now, you might be thinking 'What? You only have to overcome your fear? That's so lame!'

But remember: the thing you fear is something you can't get over easily. A person becomes scared when facing their fear, and might even have some paranoia since they're frightened for what ever reason. Usually, you never want to face your fear, because it can mentally scar you your whole life.

That's why, for the Initiation, you have to get over your fears. As 'L', you are the greatest detective in the world. A detective cannot show their fear or else someone might use that as an advantage to go against you. To be L, you cannot have a fear of something as petty as a spider. You have to be strong and overcome that 'spider' to save the lives of people, who fear something greater than that. Being _killed_.

…okay, maybe that wasn't the best analogy to use. How can getting over your fear of _spiders_ save millions of people? Well…maybe if it was a poisonous spider… augh…

* * *

Mello shook his head. _'I was never really good with analogies ..' _He thought as he brushed his hair back with a sigh.

A tall 16 year old boy with spiky dark brown hair and ear piercings was walking casually down the hall, when he spotted Mello. He smiled and waved at him. "Hey! Mello!"

Mello smiled. "HI Bill- eee!" Mello yelped as Billy came over and ruffed up his hair a little _too_ hard.

"Now remember Mell-_y_, my name's not Billy anymore since I don't want it that way. It's Johnny now, right?"

"Yeah…right…'Johnny'. Now let go!" Mello whined as he tried to get away from the painful noogie. 'Johnny' chuckled as he moved his hand away and put an arm around Mello's shoulder.

Mello sort of pouted a little as the weight made him slouch. Whenever one of the people taller than him leaned on him like that, it made him feel really short; even _if_ he hasn't gone through his growth spurt yet. It made Mello feel like a walking stand, but he knew the older kids were just joking around. Their attitudes are like that.

"So… Mels…heard you've encouraged that new kid to do the Initiation?" Johnny asked with a smile. "Man, I can't believe you did that! It's been a while since someone has tried doing the Initiation. The last person was Ester, right?"

Mello nodded with a laugh. "Yeah! He was so close finishing up his last challenge, but then he chickened out and said he couldn't face his fear anymore! What a wimp!"

Johnny paused for a second and frowned. "Hey now… isn't that a little too much to say Mels? You shouldn't make fun of others too much, or else you'll end up a jerk like Mitchie.. And I still can't believe I'm friends with that guy…" Johnny sighed.

Mello gave an unnerved smile, trying to shrug the fact he made a small mistake in the conversation. "But come on Johnny! Ester could've at least gained a little more guts to fully overcome his fear! But noo…he had to back out when he was this close to-"

"Hey." Johnny suddenly stood up straight and looked down at Mello with a serious face. Mello's 'confident' smile soon disappeared once he saw that look.

'_You definitely messed up, Mello.' _His conscience scolded, and Mello suddenly regretted bashing on Ester. When he saw Mello realize his mistake, Johnny gave a small smile and bent down to pat Mello on the head reassuringly.

"Hey now, don't start crying, Mels."

"Who said I was?" Mello retorted, but he could slightly feel the tears forming. Johnny chuckled.

"Yeah, you're right. Mello isn't really a guy who cries in front of others. But, although you may not like it, you have to realize that sometimes, the things you say about others aren't right or fair. Ester tried his best when he did the Initiation. You have to give him _some_ credit for coming so far though. He even past you when you tried the Initiation also, right?"

Mello's eyes widened as he remembered his own experience on overcoming his fear. It was absolutely…frightening. He wasn't able to go on after the second mission, and there were four missions in total that each person had to do. He shouldn't have criticized Ester…

"You're right Johnny…sorry.." Mello's head lowered and his mouth tightened, trying to hold back his guilt.

Johnny's smile turned into a grin. He couldn't help it. Mello was just so adorable in his pitiful phase! "Hey now, you shouldn't really be apologizing to me, if Ester heard you, you should be saying sorry to him. But since he never did…I guess I'll take that sorry for him." Mello flinched as his right cheek was suddenly being pulled. Hard. "Just remember to always think about what you say to others might affect them, okay?"

"Okahy, okahy! Shtop! It hursh!" Mello whined.

"Atta boy." Johnny laughed and finally let go of Mello's cheek, to which the nine year old rubbed painfully.

"That hurts!"

"So will life later on!" Johnny stated and patted Mello on the head goodbye. "Remember to live your life to the fullest while you still got the youth for it! See ya later Mels!"

And with that, the older teen left. Mello's face still hurt from that pinched he received earlier, but he still felt great after talking to Johnny. _'Hanging out with the older kids is always cool.'_ Mello thought and remembered the reason why he was walking around the orphanage in the first place.

"Where _is _that little wimp, anyway?" he grumbled, referring to Clarissa. He still had to discuss the Initiation with her, but this time with the older kids. Yesterday, they didn't have much time since Mello was dragged to detention by an irritated teacher.. He had to remind himself not to forget about detention again or else the consequences will be worse. Ms. Limmens threatened to assign Mello double detention AND homework if he ever decided to 'skip'(she assumes) again.

Mello let out a sigh and began wandering about again. As he walked around, his mind started to drift. He recalled this morning, when Matt left the room early in the morning to go to breakfast without him. He just left without a word. It was a small shock to Mello, but he shrugged it off later in the day, assuming Matt was just being a big whiner after yesterday.

But.. Mello had to admit: it _is_ sort of lonely without the redhead around. He had no one to talk to. Sure, there were the older kids like Johnny, but sometimes it's always easier to hang out with people around your age.

'_Was it really worth it just to try to get Clarissa kicked out of Wammy's?' _Mello began to think. He's known Matt for a while now; and it's been a long time since they both had a fight. The last time they fought, it was only in the beginning when they first met. Matt did not take a liking to Mello, and Mello didn't like the fact that he had to share a room with Matt. The collision of the two facts only resulted in a mass of food fights, fights, and constant disruptions and yelling during class. The two just _did not_ like each other at all.

As time passed by though, with the many detentions they had together, Mello and Matt soon became good friends. People couldn't believe that the two once actually hated each other's guts. Although they still had a few conflicts here and there, they always seemed to make up in the end no matter what.

'_It was always fun pulling pranks with him...' _Mello thought as he paused in the hallway. He sat down against a wall to rest and think some more. The thought of his friendship with Matt came up again, questioning him if it was really worth for it to be ruined just to create Clarissa's downfall.

'_Well, I know Matt. It's not like he's going to be mad at me forever. We always end up making up after a fight, anyway.. This thing happening right now is probably just one of them.'_ But there was still a tug at Mello's heart that was telling him otherwise.

A shadow appearing over him had Mello break from his thoughts. "…Mello..?" a hesitant voice spoke. Mello saw a familiar blue long sleeved shirt in front of him, and when he looked up, he was face to face with Clarissa. Clarissa jumped from the sudden eye contact and looked away, biting her lip in embarrassment.

Mello stood up, brushed himself off, and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Where have you been? I've been looking all around for you." he crossed his arms and awaited for an answer.

"Ah.. um.. I was sort of looking for you.. too...I didn't know you were here all this time.." she fidgeted nervously. Mello couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Clarissa looked at him, curious. "What's so funny..?"

"You are." Mello stated with a smirk, to which Clarissa reacted with a red face. That just made Mello laugh even more. "It's just amusing. Yesterday, you just seemed so fearless and determined to do the Initiation, but today, you're back to your usual shy state. It just makes me wonder if yesterday was just a 'thing of the moment' that you agreed to do the Initiation."

Clarissa immediately looked up; her expression completely changed. "I _want_ to do it. I really do!" Clarissa protested.

"..Is that so?" Mello questioned with a playful smile. She nodded eagerly. "Then prove it. Stop looking like some hurt puppy all the time, and have some back bone for once."

"…R-right!" Clarissa yelled, hesitating a little. "Right!" she said again more confidently. Mello turned away from her, trying to hold down his laughter. He put a hand over his mouth and cleared his throat, concealing his amusement, but his eyes still clearly showed it.

"Well, at least you're not stuttering more.. Come on, then. We still have to talk to the older kids to discuss the Initiation." Mello said and started walking to lead the way. Clarissa yelled out another 'Right!' before excitedly following after him.

'_You're really that confident, aren't you..?'_ Mello smiled again. Remembering his question, he finally came up with an answer, and with that, he no longer had a hint of hesitation.

Yes. It's really worth it.

* * *

'_This Initiation is going to be fun..'_

**

* * *

Shadow: Well… I'm afraid this is the last chapter. Yes, I had only pre-written 2 chapters. I didn't want to post both on the same day because my 'coming back' here would've been too quick. But now that this is the last chapter(for now), I'm afraid that this is a second 'see ya later.' But when I come back again someday, let's just hope my writing has improved even more. Okay? : ) See you. **


End file.
